Spring Canada goose season

DareDevilDave

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why can't we hunt Canada geese in the spring time? I know population is part of it but I think they should due away with early canada goose season when its 79 degrees out. I personally hate hunting early canada goose when its f#%!$+* hot out still. Wish g&f would change it to spring goose hunt with limits and rules.
 


Meelosh

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As they are a migratory bird, you’d likely have to take it up with the USFWS. Good luck.
 

Kurtr

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why can't we hunt Canada geese in the spring time? I know population is part of it but I think they should due away with early canada goose season when its 79 degrees out. I personally hate hunting early canada goose when its f#%!$+* hot out still. Wish g&f would change it to spring goose hunt with limits and rules.

State game and fish have little to no control. The feds then both Canada and Mexico to agree .
 

KDM

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NO!! The early season in August is just fine. I don't even want to think about the shitstorm from landowners having their fields, approaches, and the section lines rutted up by dumb asses who don't understand that spring means WET FIELDS and ground from the thaw. Then to have it done RIGHT BEFORE planting time. Then there is the disruption of courtship and egg laying that would occur from road hunters popping off at every pair of geese sitting in a pond. Unlike the snows and blues, Canada Geese nest here. The damage to the population would be WAY more than those that fall to pellets. Not to mention that 3 months in the fall is QUITE enough to have to deal with sconi and minnetukian shinanigans of "I bought a license, I'm owed this" mentality. No Sir. Leave the spring Canada's alone.
 


Meelosh

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Some time ago, I emailed our congressional leaders about moving dove season up two weeks for the northern states because we don’t really get to used the back end of season because the birds are already gone. They had zero interest in trying to amend the treaty.
 

zoops

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Big sticking point would also be that some of the migrating populations going to Canada are not doing as well so they wouldn't want harvest of those.

I'd be in favor of a once-in-a-lifetime spring duck tag though. You get to shoot one duck of your choice in the spring once in your life, obviously for mounting purposes. The plumage on pintails, wood ducks, heck even shovelers in the spring is so incredible. Obviously will never happen, but would be cool.
 

Retired-Guy

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NO!! The early season in August is just fine. I don't even want to think about the shitstorm from landowners having their fields, approaches, and the section lines rutted up by dumb asses who don't understand that spring means WET FIELDS and ground from the thaw. Then to have it done RIGHT BEFORE planting time. Then there is the disruption of courtship and egg laying that would occur from road hunters popping off at every pair of geese sitting in a pond. Unlike the snows and blues, Canada Geese nest here. The damage to the population would be WAY more than those that fall to pellets. Not to mention that 3 months in the fall is QUITE enough to have to deal with sconi and minnetukian shinanigans of "I bought a license, I'm owed this" mentality. No Sir. Leave the spring Canada's alone.

And how does hunting Canadas in the spring differ from hunting snow geese in the spring?
 
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PrairieGhost

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And how does hunting Canadas in the spring differ from hunting snow geese in the spring?

Well because we don't shoot doves off the nest, we don't hunt deer the first week of June when they are dropping fawns, we don't hunt in nesting season, and some already have eggs. You only get to shoot them off the nest and feed the eggs to your dogs if your native.
 

zoops

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I think the argument could easily be made to hunt them in the spring; just wrap it up by early April (we do hunt Turkeys during breeding season FWIW). Problem would be that many of the geese you'd be targeting would be geese that weren't going to stay here anyways and thus aren't the crop damage geese. I'm just not sure they are really as big a nuisance as they are made out to be. No doubt they cause crop damage but even if we hunt them down like crazy there will still be pockets that do damage. I'm out and about plenty in the summer & fall and do some early goose hunting and I just don't see THAT many of them.
 

Retired-Guy

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My point is that you make just as big of a problem driving across fields hunting snow geese as Canada geese. I am not in favor of a spring Canada season but I am questioning KDM's reasoning for not wanting it, Snow goose hunters make as much of a mess of fields, roads, etc. as Canada geese hunters would make.
 

KDM

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My point is that you make just as big of a problem driving across fields hunting snow geese as Canada geese. I am not in favor of a spring Canada season but I am questioning KDM's reasoning for not wanting it, Snow goose hunters make as much of a mess of fields, roads, etc. as Canada geese hunters would make.

I disagree. It's a simple numbers game. Snow goose spreads tend to be HUGE with mechanical motion decoys, spinners, electronic calls, and hundreds of decoys. Not many hunters have the desire, resources, or storage space for an effective snow goose spread, unlike Canada spreads, which can be effective with a dozen deks. There are simply fewer hunters that chase snows in the spring than there are Canada hunters in the fall. That being said, there are more important reasons behind not liking a spring Canada goose season. The first is that to successfully raise a clutch of Canada goose goslings requires BOTH parents unlike the turkey where the Tom has nothing to do with the care and raising of the young. The gander not only watches over and protects the goose while she sits on the nest, but also protects the goslings. Taking one of the parents out during the spring nesting would not only almost guarantee a lost clutch, but quite likely result in a breeding failure for the year for the survivor. An equally important issue to consider is that spring is the time for regeneration for everything. It's NOT just the reproduction of Canada geese that will be affected. Wetlands (Canada goose nesting habitat) provide nesting and birthing habitat for tens of thousands of species. What effect would a spring hunt have on ducks?? How about hen pheasants?? What about non game bird species such as herons and grebs?? What about mammals that also use Canada goose nesting habitat?? Do you think men, dogs, gunfire, trucks, and all that goes with hunting would have a positive effect on critters trying to raise their young or a negative effect? I'm going with a negative here. Now the argument could be made that a season early enough in the spring would mitigate the nesting affects, but in Canada geese, the courtship and pairing happens weeks before actual nesting and to remove one of the geese during this period would likely have the same result as taking one out while actual nesting is occurring. Snow goose courtship and pairing happens up north. If you want to hunt Canada geese, kill'em in the fall. Chase turkeys in the spring or wet a line. Leave the wetlands and the Canada geese be.
 


dean nelson

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There is no issues with the treaty SD had a spring season just a couple years ago. But with having to wait till most of the migrants were gone and all the over top rules put in place to protect the migrants it was to big of a pain in the ass.
 

Bowhunter_24

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snows are a nuisance and need to be killed. They migrate through and stay for 1-2 weeks.

Honkers are in pairs in the spring. Not big family groups. And they don't go to fields.

Kill a pair and it would be like killing ten in the fall

A spring honker season sounds very dumb.
 

Retired-Guy

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I don't disagree with you KDM but a group of snow goose hunters can mess up roads and fields too. This is one reason I don't even consider spring goose hunting! In fact, last fall when it was so wet I did not goose hunt because I felt that farmers had enough issues without me being out there rooting around in the mud.
 

dean nelson

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snows are a nuisance and need to be killed. They migrate through and stay for 1-2 weeks.

Honkers are in pairs in the spring. Not big family groups. And they don't go to fields.

Kill a pair and it would be like killing ten in the fall

A spring honker season sounds very dumb.
Killing 10 is exactly why they would do it. The whole point would be a substantial reduction in the number of birds.
 


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